Protocol for a Systematic Review of Gamified Attention Bias Interventions for Psychiatric Disorders (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Background Attention biases are subconscious processes that tend to result in individuals having increased attention for threatening or stimuli with high salience. These biases have been posited to be involved in the psychopathologies of several psychiatric disorders. Technological advances have transformed how such interventions are being delivered. Gamification technologies are increasingly being used for bias modification, as it could help increase motivation to train and make these tasks more engaging. While there are published research on gamification and attention bias, there remains several gaps in knowledge. Objectives The primary objective of the review is thus to identify attention bias modification games that have been published in the literature and to synthesise the current evidence for such interventions and to identify, if possible, the rationale for gamification. The secondary objective is to determine if gamified attention or cognitive bias modification influences secondary outcomes measures, as such anxiety levels or severity of depressive symptoms. Methods To achieve the objective of this review, a systematic review will be undertaken. For the studies that are identified, they will be reviewed by independent assessors and screened against our predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Cochrane risk of bias tool will be used for assessment of the risk of biases in randomised trials that have been identified. The evidence will be synthesized by means of a qualitative synthesis. Results We expect that the review will be completed 12 months from the publication of this protocol. Conclusions This review is pertinent as it helps to provide an overview of the evidence base for gamified attention bias interventions. The findings from the current review will help in the future conceptualisation of gamified attention bias interventions.